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5 Things that Went Wrong in Game 7 06.18.10 at 12:07 am ET
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The Celtics lost Game 7 of the NBA Finals to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday night, 83-79, falling short of their 18th championship. Here are five things that went wrong in the deciding game. (Click here for a recap of the Celtics’ loss.)

1. The Celtics gave it away - The Celtics were in control. They had the momentum and the confidence to get it done … before they let it all slip away. The Celtics led by 10 with seven minutes to go in the third quarter and had taken away the Lakers biggest weapon. But they began to miss shots and the Lakers were there to grab the rebounds. The C’s scored just three points in the final four minutes of the quarter and only led by four going into the final 12 minutes. The Lakers immediately got within two points seconds into the fourth, while the Celtics did not score for nearly three minutes. Bryant made three free throws to cut the Celtics advantage to one, and banked another two minutes later to give the Lakers the lead. Bryant scored four consecutive points to pull the Lakers ahead by four with 5:22 left, and they never looked back. The Celtics played catch up for the rest of the game as Bryant, Ron Artest, and Pau Gasol made critical baskets.

2. Kobe Bryant - The Celtics have battled past superstars the entire postseason, each time prevailing with team basketball. But after defeating Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Dwight Howard, they could not overcome the individual performance of Kobe Bryant. The Celtics held Bryant to just eight points (3-14 FG) in 22 minutes in the first half. When Bryant began to find his rhythm, though, the C’s failed to find an answer. Bryant scored 15 points in the second half, including four straight to tie the game and give the Lakers the lead with less than six minutes left. He finished the night with 23 points. It wasn’t his best offensive performance, but he made the shots when it counted.

3. Rebounding – The Celtics have said the entire series that the team that wins the rebounding war wins the game. On Thursday, they won neither. The Lakers outrebounded the Celtics, 53-40, including 23 offensive boards. This can’t be pinned on the injury of Kendrick Perkins, either. He alone doesn’t account for a 13-rebound differential. The Celtics had players capable of rebounding, but in the end, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant combined for 33 boards while only Paul Pierce rebounded in double-digits for the C’s. Kevin Garnett, who the Celtics desperately needed defensively, grabbed just three rebounds.

4. Ray Allen - His monumental 3-point performance is all but forgotten after Ray Allen’s offensive struggles continued through Game 7. Allen shot just 3-for-14 from the field and scored 13 points. While he deserves credit for playing tough D on Bryant, his lack of production at the basket hurt the Celtics in a situation where they needed everyone scoring at full potential.

5. They Played Lakers Ball - The Celtics dominated the first half by feeding off their fundamentals of tough defense and team basketball. In the second half, however, it became showtime for Bryant and the Lakers. The Celtics failed to put together productive offensive possessions, rushed shots, and attempted forced baskets. In the end, they were forced to put the Lakers at the line, where they were outscored 25-15. They C’s began the season by beating the Cavaliers in Cleveland with Celtics basketball, and ended it by losing to the Lakers in Los Angeles by falling victim to their opponent’s game.

Read More: Celtics, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant Print  |  Email  |  Bark It Up!  |  Digg It
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  • Kevin Garnett

    I blame the refs for the fact that I only had 3 rebounds. I even gave a pre-game interview saying how the team who wins the rebound battle wins the game. 3 rebounds. I’m still really good at pounding my own chest, cursing, and acting like the toughest guy on the court. 3 rebounds. The refs boxed me out, that’s why I only got 3 rebounds.

  • Waaah

    Celtics fans please, the fact of the matter is your bench did not show up on the road and your old team ran out of gas in the 4th quarter of the most important game of the year. If you were younger and in shape you wouldn’t have had to foul when you were getting beat. You got beat at your own game. Ray Ray missed a free throw in the 4th or you would have had a chance to tie the game late. Let’s face it, you had a 13 point lead in the 3rd quarter and didn’t close the deal cause you were tired. Here is your fearless leader Doc Rivers:

    “We had to go away from the post almost because of fatigue. It’s the first time all year that you can actually say, at the end of the day, we were old at the end of the game because we didn’t have a enough bodies. I thought it hurt us.”

    Congratulations on a good year, too bad Perkins went down but you probably wouldn’t have gotten as many points from Perk as you did from Wallace. In a game where points were hard to come by it was probably a blessing in disguise. You had to know it was going to be tough in Staples Center as it was tough for the Lakers to win in TD Garden. Don’t make excuses, the Lakers didn’t complain about any officiating and either did the Celtics players except Wallace but everyone knows he is delusional at best.

  • Sha

    Just using “Round” numbers… 25 free throws per quarter x 4 quarters… A 100 FREE TROW GAME!!! In GAME 7 a DISGRACE .. IMHO

  • Kman

    Celtic fans, please show a little class.

  • ZebraCheat

    This game was totally fixed by the refs. It was the most blatant fix since the Steelers/Seahawks Super Bowl. The unfair ratio of fouls called in the 4th quarter spoke volumes. Sports in general and NBA spookball is no different than government and finance. The whole country is fixed by crooks and thieves. The American Way is to lie and cheat. Most of our heroes are based on fakery and myth. And anybody who believes in the official BS recordbook is a fool, a sheep or an easily mislead moron.

  • McFact Truther

    9/11 was an inside job, the BP oil spill was on purpose and game 7 was fixed. Despite naive PC belief to the contrary, sports history will put an asterisk by this one. Boycott ESPN and the NBA. They are the fixers.

  • JC

    You guys will come up with excuses for everything.

    The Celtics didn’t get foul calls because they weren’t even attacking the paint. They were barely even posting up in that game. By the 4th quarter the Celtics were spending their time around the arc with the ball, instead of trying to use the height of KG or even Wallace in the paint. Sorry but if you don’t take it to the rack, you probably aren’t going to get fouled.

    Get with the program and stop making up lame, arbitrary, and false excuses.

    Basketball 101 kids, one-oh-one

  • Sha

    Don’t let FACTS confuse the issue… a 100 FREE THROW GAME…IN GAME 7… “Convenient also… 4th quarter. Nice. Just me personally, I WOULDN’T want to win like that.

  • ShawnPuffy

    Hey did anyone see the three point foul that got called on ray ray in the 4th? Yeah the one that he wasn’t even close to touching kobe. Or the no call when Pierce drove through three people and they just called the ball out of bounds on the Celts. Or the travel on Gasol that wasn’t called or reviewed in the last two minutes. Btw, they called a foul that didn’t happen on the Celts on that same play. Yeah but those don’t count right? That’s 6 points the Lakejoint shouldn’t have had. And 2 more for the Celts. You do the math. And that’s only 3 bad calls in the 4th. Need I go on? Maybe I do since you ridiculous people don’t understand what’s going on. I’d be upset even if I were a Laker fan. I hate Kobe but I realize he’s the best in the game right now. However such a great series will forever be tainted by David Stern’s yearning to make more profit for the league. The refs clearly favored the Lakers in LA and even in game 4. And the other games saw the lakers get no calls their way. It’s completely sickening. I want to see the two best teams play and the best team win. I don’t care I the Celts get swept as long as it’s fair. Someone needs to either start an investigation into the league and their officials or start a petition to get David Stern removed as commissioner. I mean the guy was at every Laker game in the stands but I didn’t see him once in Boston. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Something needs to change before the NBA goes the way of professional boxing. David Stern is ruining the game and the league that players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and countless others worked so hard to bring to it’s high level of excellence. To see a bunch of guys who don’t play the game destroy it is just sickening. I have nothing more to say on this except I hope fans of ALL teams stand together and stand up to this autrocity. Fine, the Lakers won. Raise banner number 16. Let’s just make sure the next isn’t clouded in controversy, suspicion and doubt. Let’s us, the fans, take back our NBA from the corporate money hounds. Good series Celts. You played your hearts out. And congratulations to the Lakers as shady as it may have been you still got your banner and that’s why you play the game.

  • JC

    This win isn’t clouded in controversy, unless you count the excuse making by idiotic Boston fans controversy. Nobody is claiming the refs screwed anything up, you just can’t grasp the simple basketball facts I mentioned in my previous post. (Probably didn’t even acknowledge it because the truth most definitely hurts)

  • Lakers#1

    Beantown Losers!! HHAHAHHAAA… RAY ALLEN For Mvp!!!! Garnott how many rebounds?? hey CELPRICKS FaNs we had a lot of calls because our Lakers are more aggressive Period. you all WHINE WHINE WHINE HACK HACK hack! Kobe got his 5th Rings and your team will wait another 20 years for the next wave.
    C YA

  • JohnM

    I don’t see any Celtic fans bringing up 2008…remember how many more FT’s
    Boston had in the first 2 games there???

    So go eat your beans,clam chowda, and vote for another Tea Bagger candidate!!!

  • MeanGreenMachine

    Here’s some food for thought…

    Game 7, 3rd quarter, with 8:15 left, the Celtics lead was 49-36 and the free throws were near even, 12 to 9, in LA’s favor. From then to the end of the game, the Lakers went to the foul line at a rate of 25-8. Why did all that change, STRANGELY, right when the Celtics had mounted their biggest lead?

    Seemingly, the way the game was being called changed right when the Celtics started to pull away. Just interesting…

  • Penzoil

    Great stuff MeanGreenMachine & ShawnPuffy, couldn’t agree more.

  • sacbobv

    Let’s check our history:

    Fakers have been in 31 Finals.
    They have won 16.
    That’s a 52% win rate.

    Celtics have been in 22 Finals.
    They have won 17.
    That’s a 77% win rate.

    And the best part is the Celtics have beat the Lakers 9-3 over the history of the Finals.
    A 66% win rate.

    Got a way to go Flakers before you can compare yourselves to the Celtics. A long, long, long way!

  • Alec

    It is sad when as a fan you invest so much time into watching a series like this only to see biased blatant refereeing. Statistics don’t lie, The Cs had a 4-1 ratio in fouls called against them and there were countless occasions where the Celtics were called for violations that just didn’t exist. They absolutely had no chance in this one. Sorry NBA, but you need to clean up your act, the fans deserve better. For what its worth, I’m out, no more of the BS for me. There are fairer sports to watch.

  • Steve

    Hey Lakers#1, PurpleReign, JohnM and all the rest of you closet case Knick fans, let’s see the Floppers try and win that game with a 25-8 FT disadvantage after the 8:15 mark in the 3rd quarter. Oh, and did I mention that basket that Gasol made while committing an up and down violation, the play where the ball touched Gasol’s foot while he was out of bounds, and the time KG beat Gasol for the umpteenth time to his left, got fouled and they ruled it a clean block?
    I hear ya Alec. I made it my policy to watch the NBA only when the Celtics are playing after the 2009 playoffs when the refs stole game 6 in the Orlando series and nearly stole the Chicago series.

  • Steve

    Furthermore, I can’t believe how blind the media has been to the officiating, especially given the fact that it was worse in the 4th quarter of game 7 of the Finals than it was in game 5 of the Orlando series. C’mon Jessica, and everyone else, give the team and yourselves a break.

  • Celtics Suck

    Wow!! I JUST GOT BACK FROM THE LAKER PARADE, SURE DOES FEEL GOOD TO HAVE A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM!!! HA,HA,HA,HA,AH, LOSERS!! BOSTON SUCK!

  • larry

    steve..your forgetting the nba is a business, kobe winning sells alot more jerseys than kobe losing.!i don’t think the media is blind to the officiating..i just don’t think they can do anything about it.!

  • Celtics Suck

    Hey Larry you keep thinking up all the excuses why your sorry team lost, but what it comes down to is that we WON and there is nothing you can say or do to change that fact! My suggestion is to just get over it move on and deal with it LOSER! we dont care about all these stupid facts or theories you boston losers think you have just to make yourselves sleep better at night!
    BOSTON SUCKS!!!! ANYWAY

  • Steve

    You Laker banwagoneer knick fans still haven’t explained why the officials called it tight for the Celtics in the 4th quarter.

  • celticpride617

    you laker fans gotta be kidding me all of our 4 sports teams are some of the most relevant teams in sports lately were always hangin around till the end. you latte sippin hippie huggers only got the lakers and half of the angels real impressive so ill see you in football season….oh wait no i wont cuz you dont got a football team have fun rooting for the raiders or somethin..or whoever you root for over there in hollywood

  • LakerFan

    Yean thats right pride617 we may not have a football team yet and really doesnt matter cause around that time of the year we are still sunbathing by the warm coast while your freezing your a$$ off hanging at some bar complaining about your trailer trash life and how your wife wont put out any more cause all you do is watch sports all four seasons, so enjoy it LOSER we got what we wanted our trophy and bragging rights GO LAKERS!!!

  • LakerFan

    Oh and by the way…. we have LAKERS,CLIPPERS,DODGERS,ANGELS,KINGS,DUCKS,AVENGERS, plus every popular attraction you can think of idiot this is the Entertainment capital get your facts right dumba$$

  • Steve

    Must be nice to live on welfare, LakerFan and CS. LOL

  • LakerFan

    call it what you want steve your wife doesnt seem to mind as long its with a champ like me dumba$$, Stupid pathetic loser!!! F boston!!!

  • livin_it_up

    How sweet it is! Back to back championships! Taste it you chowds! How many championships do you have since 1986? ONE? Yeah that’s right, the Lakers have 7. BEAT IT! You jackasses won the bulk of your championships when none of you were around to see them so shut up.

  • Steve

    Shut me up livin. That T-Girl is your wife, not mine LakerFan.

  • Donaghy called it

    I’m a Knick fan and didn’t have a dog in this fight but clearly it wouldn’t have mattered if Ray Allen had hit a couple of three pointers in the 4th quarter because the officials would merely have given the Lakers 7 or 8 additional foulshots.

    22 foulshots in the last 9 minutes of game 7? I have been an NBA fan since 1963 and I have never seen anything like it. Even for those who believe Boston really did foul the Lakers that much you would have to be blind to miss the non calls when LA was hacking them. Boston easily could have shot 8 more freethrows in the 4th.

    1963 until now and I have never seen the officials take over a big game like that. What a pity for pro basketball. Kobe didn’t take over the game…the refs did. Bagjob.

  • LakeShow

    Hey Steve your wife said shes leaving your sorry a$$ and to send your daughter to join us in celebrating in the city of CHAMPS!!! SUCK IT LOSER STEVE!!! F boston and F U!!! suck on your clam chowda bi**c

  • Basketball Gal

    After reading many many many blogs over the past week and change here are some interesting trends I’m seeing…

    * The majority of basketball watchers in the nation believe the refs handed game 7 to the lakers. Fans from many other teams are highly pissed about that game and they were not even rooting for the celts. I was gonna say that based on the many comments i’ve read, only LA fans seem to think they deserved a win in a game where they were not the better team BUT even that is incorrect. A number of LA fans are angry because they feel the game was tainted their win has been sullied.

    * I REALLY wish Lakers fans would stop using the phrase “quit whining” considering they pisssed and moaned after EVERY game they lost in the series and would have been UP IN ARMS had the refs gieven the celts free throws on almost every possession in the 4th. So many hypocrits out there.

    * The Lakers outrebounded the celts in the first 3 quarter but the teams were nearly even in the 4th. So i don’t get the “we outrebounded you” argument. The lakers were trailing the entire time they outrebounded the celts and did NOT significantly outrebound them in the 4th when they “won” the game.

    * Injuries suck and both teams have delt with a lot. The celts are probably the oldest most injured team in the NBA and still played better baskeball in game 7. The “but bymun was out in 08″ excuse is less relevant because the celtics STOMPED the lakers. The series was not close and ended in one of the most embarrassing blowouts in lakers history. In this series a better (then 08) lakers team played pretty evenly with a worse (than 08) celtics team and just BARELY squeaked by with a ref assisted win in a game 7. 08 and 2010 are not comparable at all and I would feel ashamed if i were a lakers fan knowing how that “win” was achieved. The refs didn’t allow the lakers to prove whether or not they were the better team, and basketball fans around the nation seem to agree.

    *MANY ppl have pointed out the striking similarities btwn some of the lakers previous “wins” and how similar they were to this game 7. Game 6 of the kings lakers series is widely considered the worst officiated game in NBA history and was very similar to this years game 7.

    * The Lakers record with crawford reffing is stellar. Not so much with some of the other refs.

    * The celtics COULDN’T complain (publically) about the refs after the game even though several hinted at their “bad luck” in the last quarter and calls not going their way. Sheed may be a piece of work, but i don’t thin it’s fair for a player to be more likely to be called for a foul because he arugues calls. Techs i dont mind, but we saw more than 2 of sheed clean clocks get called for fouls (in the same game) so we know even if he argues almost all calls against him, he also isn’t always out of line doing so.

    * Yes Perk’s absence hurt the celts, much like a sudden (unlike baynums) injury to a lakers starter would have hurt the lakers. Sheed def stepped up but perks absence was about more than just rebounds (the one area LA did well at, other than drawing fouls) it would have given them 4 top players to rotate through those 2 positions instead of 3. And I don’t know why folks think KG was tired in the 4th, he was in foul trouble for most of the game along w sheed. KG was on the bench plenty.

    Overall, the majority basketball watchers outside of LA (but many in cali, oddly) agree that the 4th quarter and even parts of the 3rd were bullshit and that the lakers got handed that win by the refs, considering they couldn’t do it with their shooting alone, obviously. The only way the celtics could have beat the lakers given the refs help would have been to score on EVERY possession in the 4th, considering the lakers went to the line on almost every possession. Tall order, and it warms my heart that so many non celtics fans and even magic and cavs fans admitting what REALLY went down. If you criticize a ref, you get fined. Nobody wants to say shit, but true basketball fans know the truth and we’re not done making it known!

  • LakeShow

    THATS BULLCRAP!!! STICK TO WNBA BASKEBALL GAL! AND STOP CUTING AND PASTING COMMENTS ON HERE FROM OTHER CELTIC WHINERS, GO COOK OR CLEAN SOMETHING,KEEP YOUR NOSE OUT OF REAL MEN SPORTS AND GO WATCH OPRAH.

  • Penzoil

    Face it Laker fans, it was tainted…and tainted bad…and even then you barely eked it out…not at all a decisive win ala 2008 mauling Celtics put on you…and it is obviously YOU dumbass Laker fans that need to show some doggone class…

  • Steve

    I don’t even have any kids FakeShow. Just because you have a bunch of illegitimate kids, don’t take it out on me.

  • Steve

    RIGHT ON, BASKETBALL GAL!!!!!!!!!

  • http://www.soccerrefereeuniforms.org/ blazer45

    The lakers just got lucky last season I can’t wait for the next season to starts and see how the celtics regain their crown.

    soccer referee uniforms

  • http://naturallygrowbreast.typepad.com/blog/atom.xml Johnathan Moynihan

    Thanks a lot document. Where else could material article working on some research, and exactly.

  • antonio

    what about game 2 of the 2008 nba finals? lakers only shot 10 freethrows while boston shot what 38? or was it 42 either way that is too much of a difference in freethrows leon powe a bench player had 13 attempts alone! and as bad as the difference was LA barely lost so for all you saying the refs helped LA win the title you should remember that the refs helped boston win it in 2008…

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